Al Qaeda leader calls for kidnapping of Westerners

Ayman al-Zawahiri took over leadership of al Qaeda in June 2011 after Osama bin Laden's death.

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Ayman al-Zawahiri calls for the kidnapping of Westerners

Al Qaeda's leader made the call in a video posted on jihadist websites

Al-Zawahiri cites the kidnapping of Warren Weinstein as an example

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is calling on Muslims to kidnap Westerners, citing the success in the abduction of American aid worker Warren Weinstein in Pakistan.

In a two-part, more than two-hour video posted on jihadist websites, al-Zawahiri called for the abductions as part of a vow not to "spare any efforts" to free Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, the mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

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"I call on every free and honorable (person) in Egypt to participate in every protest against the Israeli Embassy, against the peace treaty with Israel, against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, and against every siege of Gaza," al-Zawahiri said. "Islamic movements and masses must be at the forefront of those protests and the first to sacrifice for their sake."

The video is the latest in a series released by al-Zawahiri, who was al Qaeda's No. 2 leader under Osama bin Laden. He took over leadership in June 2011 following bin Laden's death, according to statements posted on jihadist websites.

Weinstein was captured after his kidnappers managed to overcome the three security guards who were protecting him.

One of the FBI's most wanted terrorists, al-Zawahiri has played a defining role in al Qaeda. He is believed to be hiding somewhere in Pakistan's tribal region that borders Afghanistan.

He was indicted in absentia for his alleged role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of the U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, that killed 224 civilians and wounded more than 5,000 others, according to the National Counterterrorism Center, part of the U.S. federal government.

The FBI is offering a $25 million reward for information leading to his capture, the same amount as the reward for bin Laden.

Al-Zawahiri's wife and three children were killed in December 2001 in a U.S. attack on the family's residence in Afghanistan.